Air directing assembly for a room air conditioner

ABSTRACT

According to the present invention, an air directing housing is provided for an air conditioning unit of the type having a basepan which supports indoor and outdoor sections. The basepan includes a vertical wall extending upwardly for a part of the height of the unit to define a lower portion of a partition which separates the unit into the indoor and outdoor sections. The indoor section includes an evaporator disposed in the basepan generally forwardly of the partition. A centrifugal fan is mounted between the evaporator coil and the vertical wall for rotation about an axis extending from front to back of the air conditioning unit. The fan is a centrifugal flow fan which has a circular inlet at the front thereof. The air directing housing is adapted to be mounted in the basepan rearwardly of the evaporator coil and surrounding the fan. The housing includes a lower section having a front wall which has a circular opening formed therein which is substantially coextensive with the circular inlet of the fan. The lower section also includes an interior scroll section for receiving the fan, and an open back. The air directing housing further includes an upper section defining an enclosed top structure for cooperation with the upper discharge structure of the lower section to define the air discharge opening of the air conditioner. The upper section further includes a rear wall having a lower edge adapted to engage the vertically extending wall of the basepan to define the upper portion of the partition. As a result, when the lower and upper air directing housing sections are installed in the housing, they cooperate with one another, the basepan, and the vertically extending wall to define the fan housing, the air intake and air discharge of the air conditioner.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a room air conditioner and, moreparticularly, to a room air conditioner having foamed insulation wallsforming the evaporator air flow path within the air conditioner.

BACKGROUND ART

Room air conditioners generally have an air inlet and an air outlet at afront side of the air conditioner which faces the interior of the roomwhen the air conditioner is placed in a window opening or in athrough-the-wall sleeve. Usually warm air is drawn in through a portionof the front grill to pass through a filter and through the evaporatorcoil to be cooled and then is directed by a blower or a fan to an outletalso in the front grill.

Prior art air conditioners have included a variety of sheet metal andplastic wall sections for defining the air flow path through such an airconditioner. Also, it is known to use a foamed insulation material todefine a portion of the air passage within the air conditioner. U.S.Pat. No. 5,085,057 is representative of such prior arrangements.

Due to the complexity and the number of parts associated with a room airconditioner, assembly of such a device often times includes complicatedand time intensive assembly steps and requires intricate manipulation ofparts and tools. Such a process results in an increased cost of the roomair conditioner due to increased manufacturing costs. Accordingly, it isdesirable to design and fabricate components for a window room airconditioner which are as simple as possible and which perform as manyfunctions as possible within the air conditioner while requiring aminimum of cost and labor to install.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, an air directing housing is providedfor an air conditioning unit of the type having a basepan which supportsindoor and outdoor sections. The basepan includes a vertical wallextending upwardly for a part of the height of the unit to define alower portion of a partition which separates the unit into the indoorand outdoor sections. The indoor section includes an evaporator disposedin the basepan generally forwardly of the partition. A centrifugal fanis mounted between the evaporator coil and the vertical wall forrotation about an axis extending from front to back of the airconditioning unit. The fan is a centrifugal flow fan which has acircular inlet at the front thereof. The air directing housing isadapted to be mounted in the basepan rearwardly of the evaporator coiland surrounding the fan. The housing includes a lower section having afront wall which has a circular opening formed therein which issubstantially coextensive with the circular inlet of the fan. The lowersection also includes an interior scroll section for receiving the fan,and an open back. The air directing housing further includes an uppersection defining an enclosed top structure for cooperation with theupper discharge structure of the lower section to define the airdischarge opening of the air conditioner. The upper section furtherincludes a rear wall having a lower edge adapted to engage thevertically extending wall of the basepan to define the upper portion ofthe partition. As a result, when the lower and upper air directinghousing sections are installed in the housing, they cooperate with oneanother, the basepan, and the vertically extending wall to define thefan housing, the air intake and air discharge of the air conditioner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood and its objects and advantageswill become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an perspective view of a room air conditioner which embodiesthe features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 with theupper housing removed therefrom;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3—3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the air conditionerof FIG. 1 with a number of the components removed therefrom;

FIG. 5 is top plan view of the air conditioner of FIG. 1 with most ofthe components removed therefrom;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the air directing housing of the presentinvention removed from the air conditioning unit;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the two sections of the airdirecting housing separated from one another;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view similar to that of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the lower section of the air directinghousing;

FIG. 10 is a view taken along the line 10—10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the lower section illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the lower section of the air directinghousing;

FIG. 13 is a front view of the upper section of the air directinghousing;

FIG. 14 is a view taken along the line 14—14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a top view of the upper section of the air directing housing;and

FIG. 16 is an left-hand end view of the upper section of the airdirecting housing as illustrated in FIG. 15.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

With reference initially to FIG. 1, a room air conditioner 10 includes asubstantially rectangular housing 12 which includes a lower housingsection 14, an upper housing section 16, and an indoor grill section 18.The lower housing section 14 is mounted in a metal basepan 20 and theentire room air conditioner is adapted to be positioned in a rectangularopening in an exterior wall or on a windowsill in a room where coolingis desired with the indoor grill section 18 facing into the room, as isconventional.

The housing sections 12 and 14 and the grill 18 are preferably made froma molded plastic material. As best seen in FIGS. 2 through 5, the entireair conditioning unit 10 is supported on a plastic basepan 21 moldedintegrally with and forming the bottom of the lower housing 14.Extending upwardly from the basepan, and integrally formed with left andright side walls 22 and 24, respectively, is a vertically extendingpartition 26 which separates the lower housing 14 into an indoor section28 and an outdoor section 30.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the air conditioning unit includes an indoorrefrigerant-to-air heat exchanger 32 (hereinafter “evaporator coil”) andan inside or evaporator fan 34. Briefly, air from the space to beconditioned by the system is drawn by action of the evaporator fan 34through inlet louvers 36 formed in the indoor grill section 18 and isdirected through the evaporator coil 32 where the air is cooled. Thecooled air is then directed back into the space to be cooled by an airdirecting housing 38, which, in turn, directs the air through an indoorconditioned air discharge opening 40 forming part of the grill 18. As isbest seen in FIG. 3, both the evaporator fan 34 and an outdoor orcondenser fan 42 are driven from opposite ends of a single drive shaftof a common drive motor 44 mounted in the outdoor section 30.

Other components of the air conditioner forming the outdoor section 30of the air conditioning unit are not necessary to an understanding ofthe present invention and will not be described herein.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the indoor fan 34 is a centrifugalfan mounted for rotation about an axis extending from the front to backof the air conditioning unit 10. The fan has a closed back wall 46 and aplurality of longitudinally extending blades 48 defining the outerperiphery thereof, and a circular inlet at the front 50 thereof. The fanis configured such that upon rotation in a clockwise direction, asviewed from the front of the unit, air will be drawn into the opening inthe front thereof and directed radially outwardly therefrom.

The air directing housing 38 includes a lower section 52 and an uppersection 54. As will be seen, the upper section 54 and lower section 52cooperate to define a structure which in turn cooperates with theseparating partition 26 to house the evaporator fan 34, the define theair directing scroll associated with the fan 34, and to define the airpassage which directs discharge air to the air discharge assembly 40 ofthe grill 18.

The lower section 52 of the air directing housing comprises a lower basesection 56 which is adapted to be received in a space 58 defined in partby the bottom wall of the basepan 21 and a pair of spaced positioningwalls 60 integrally formed with the base and adapted to engage oppositeends 62 of the lower base section 56. The space 58 is further defined atthe front by a wall 61 extending between the spaced walls 60 and in therear by the partition wall 26. The lower section 52 comprises asubstantially planar front wall 64 which has a circular opening 66formed therein which is adapted to be in coextensive fluid flowrelationship with the inlet to the indoor fan 34 when the unit isassembled. The sizing of the circular opening is preferably slightlysmaller than the inlet opening to the fan to minimize air leakage fromthe outer discharge side of the fan therethrough.

Substantially planar left and right-hand side walls 68 and 70,respectively, are integrally formed with the base 56 and front wall 64of the lower section 52. The intersection of the left side wall 68 withthe front wall 64 defines the left front corner 72, likewise theintersection of the right side wall 70 with the front wall 64 definesthe right front comer 74. The back of the lower section 52 issubstantially open and defines an outer perimeter wall 76.

Support and positioning of the lower housing section 52 is provided byengaging the lower base section 56 with the previously described sideand front wall sections 60 and by engagement of the left and right frontcomers 72 and 74, respectively, with vertically extending angularsupport and guide channels 78 and 80 which are best seen in FIGS. 4 and5. The support channels 78 and 80 are each integrally formed with thelower housing section 14 and extend vertically to an elevation justbelow a pair of evaporator support channels 82 formed in the front wall64 at the lower section 52. The back wall 76 of the lower section 52engages the partition 26 as best seen in FIG. 4 and the lower part ofthe front wall 64 engages the wall 61. In order to assure an air tightcontact between the back wall 76 and the partition, the front wall 64 isprovided with vertically extending raised sections 84 on opposite sidesthereof, adjacent the left 72 and right 4 comers which assures aninterference fit between the front wall 64 acting through the raisedsections 84 and the rear wall with the partition 26.

The interior of the lower section 52 comprises a substantially circularchamber defined by a circular wall 86. The circular wall 86 iseccentrically located with respect to the circular opening 66 in thefront wall such that when the fan 34 is mounted coaxially with theopening 66, the fan scroll is defined from a region extending from asharp wall 88, in close proximity to the fan, in a counterclockwisedirection (as viewed in FIG. 12), to an increasingly largercross-section as the air flows upwardly as represented by arrow “90”. Aswill be seen, the part of the lower section 52 which extends above thetop wall 92 cooperates with the upper section 54 to complete the airpassage through the air conditioning unit.

Looking now at the upper section 54 of the air directing housing 38. Theupper section 54 comprises a back wall 94 which has the same shape asthe partition wall 26 between the indoor section 28 and outdoor section30. It will be noted with reference to FIG. 5 that the partition 26 isdefined by a pair of spaced wall sections defining an interior space 96therebetween. The lower end 98 of the rear wall 94 defines a section ofreduced thickness which is adapted to be received within the space 96 inthe partition wall 26 to thereby define an air tight seal therebetween.The upper section 54 further comprises a substantially planar top 100and a left-hand downwardly extending wall section 102. With reference toFIGS. 7 and 8, a downwardly facing surface 104 on the left-hand wallsection 102 and a forwardly facing portion 106 of the rear wall 94 areadapted to engage mating wall sections 108 and 110, respectively, on thelower housing section 52. These surfaces are preferably provided with agasket-like material 112 to assure an air tight fit therebetween.

As best appreciated from FIGS. 6, 7 and 14, the right-hand end of theupper section 54 is provided with a downwardly facing surface 114 and adownwardly extending positioning lug 116. The downwardly extendingsurface 114 is adapted to engage a mating surface 118 provided on theupper right-hand end of the lower section 54. Likewise, the downwardlyextending positioning lug 116 is adapted to be received in a matingnotch 120 defined on the upper right-hand end of the lower section 52.Further alignment between the upper and lower sections is achieved byengagement of a vertical extension 122 on the right-hand side of thelower housing section 52 with a mating notch 124 formed in theright-hand end of the upper housing section 54. One of the surfaces 114or 118 is provided with a suitable gasket-like material 119 to assure anair tight contact therebetween.

Looking now at FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper end of the housing section 52 isprovided with an elongated open front defined by a “sideways L” shapedperimeter wall 125. Likewise, the front of the upper housing section 54is provided with an elongated opening defined by a “sideways L” shapedperimeter wall 127. As best seen in FIG. 6, with the upper and lowerhousing sections 54 and 52 assembled to one another, the perimeter walls125 and 127 cooperate to define an air discharge opening 126 from theair directing housing 38.

It will be further appreciated that the right-hand portion of the rearwall 94 of the upper section 52 is provided with a curved section 128which is adapted to cooperate with the top wall 92 of the lower section52 and a side wall portion 130 of the lower housing section 52 whichextends the end of the “L shaped” wall 125. The cooperation of thesewalls defines an interior plenum 132 which directs air to the airdischarge opening 126.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, and the other drawing figures, itwill be noted that the lower section of the scroll 52 is furtherprovided with an elongated outwardly extending wall section 134 which isadapted to overly the top of the evaporator coil 32 when the upperscroll is installed in the air conditioning unit. Again, as best seen inFIG. 3, when the indoor grill 18 is installed to the air conditioningunit, a lower wall 135 forming part of the air discharge opening 40engages the top of the wall 134. Further, additional wall sections ofthe air discharge opening 40 defines a rear peripherally extending wall138 which is adapted to engage a peripheral mating surface 140 definedby the air discharge opening 126 formed by to the upper and lowersections 54 and 52 of the air directing housing 38. It will be notedthat portions of the air discharge opening 126 are configured to extendin overlapping relationship with the wall 138 in order to define asubstantially air tight seal therebetween.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the air directing housing 38formed by the lower section 52 and the upper section 54 cooperate withone another and the partition wall to define the fan housing, the airintake and air discharge of the air conditioner.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioning unit of the type having abase pan which supports indoor and outdoor sections, said basepanincluding a vertical wall extending upwardly for a part of the height ofsaid unit to define a lower portion of a partition defining the unitinto said indoor and outdoor section, said indoor section comprising: anevaporator coil disposed in said basepan generally forward of saidpartition; a centrifugal fan mounted between said evaporator coil andsaid vertical wall for rotation about an axis extending from the frontto back of said air conditioning unit, said fan comprising a closedbackside, a plurality of longitudinally blades defining the outerperiphery thereof, and a circular inlet at the front thereof; an airdirecting housing adapted to be mounted in said basepan rearwardly ofsaid evaporator coil and surrounding said fan, said housing comprising:a lower section having a front wall which has an opening formed thereinlocated substantially coextensive with said circular inlet of said fan,an upper air discharge structure, an interior scroll section forreceiving said fan, and an open back; and an upper section comprising anenclosed top structure for cooperation with said upper dischargestructure of said lower section to define an air discharge opening ofsaid air directing housing, and a rear wall having a lower edge adaptedto engage said vertically extending wall of said basepan to define theupper portion of said partition; whereby when said lower and upper airdirecting housing sections are installed in said housing, they cooperatewith one another, and said vertically extending wall to define the airintake and discharge of said air conditioner.
 2. The apparatus of claim1 wherein said air directing housing is made from a plastic foammaterial.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said air conditioning unitfurther includes air indoor grill, said indoor grill having an airdischarge opening therein, said air discharge opening defining arearwardly extending peripheral wall, said peripheral wall being adaptedto engage said air discharge opening of said air directing housing in anair tight relationship.